


On the bridge

by green7silver



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 04:34:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19165909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green7silver/pseuds/green7silver
Summary: Noah feels guilty for shooting Claude





	On the bridge

Title: On the bridge  
Author: green7silver  
Claim: Heroes: HRG/Claude  
Table: Do-it-yourself  
Prompt: Guilt  
Rating: NC17  
Summary: Noah feels guilty for shooting Claude  
Disclaimer: Heroes doesn´t belong to me  
Warnings: Slash  
Setting: Between season one and two  
Notes: Written for 10 hurt/comforts live journal

On the bridge

Noah was on the bridge and looked down on the river, but there was no one to be seen and he knew suddenly that there was no one there anyway. When he took a step back he saw Claude lying a few feet away from him never falling from the bridge but bleeding to death right there. He had been laying in the dirt for some time now and was already decaying. Noah felt cold and empty without him, so he knelt down and stroked over once so handsome face. Suddenly the dead eyes flew open and hands closed around his neck, choking him. Breath failed him and then decaying lips were pressed on his. 

Shortly before passing out Noah woke up. And the worst about it was that he even with a clear mind he was willing to risk his life to see Claude one more time. If could be sure, that Claude was all right, wherever he was, he would accept his revenge. Even the decaying lips didn´t disgust him but just fuelled his longing.

Dreams like that never left him since the day on the bridge and that they came every night in the moment just meant that the anniversary of his betrayal was coming around again.

Now on the run with the family it was dangerous to go back to the place, but he couldn´t just stay away from it. He had gone there each year and this time he just had to be a bit more careful than normal. Lying was so part of his life that it was not even difficult to find an excuse for his family.

The bridge of course hadn´t changed.

“Claude,” he whispered talking to his former partner as if he could hear him like always, “I´m sorry. Of course you know that. But it is not only because I miss you so much.   
I finally saw through my own lies. You were right from the beginning. I could not hand her over. She is my daughter and I love her. I would everything to protect her. I even shot Thompson. Now I´m myself on the run. Pretty ironic, isn´t it?

I know that finally doing the right thing makes my guilt not lighter or your fate more bearable. If I could just tell …just see you one more time. I never could earn your forgiveness but would you at least like to know how deeply regret everything. It´s eating me alive.”

But Noah was not the only one who came to the bridge every year. Claude couldn´t say himself what had brought him to the place of his near dismiss the following year. And when he saw Noah staying there he was torn between running away and just tripping him over the railing. But then he heart his name and needed a frightened minute to understand that Noah was not really talking to him but desperately trying to relieve his guilty conscience. It had been very satisfying to hear the sheer agony in Noah´s voice. The bastard had surely earned it. 

But over the years when the guilt never wavered and Noah never forgot the date, Claude found that he couldn´t stick to the violent hate of the first moment. He still felt the sting of betrayal and would never trust the asshole again, but Noah was still his rookie and compulsory need to protect him seemed unfortunately not able to be killed by the gunshots. After some time he even began to feel a bit of pity with Noah´s agony. In the end he came not anymore to enjoy it, but because he had the strange feeling that he owed it to Noah to listen at least to his confession.

Normally he stood completly still until Noah was gone, but this time he suddenly knew that there was only one way to release both of them. 

Noah stiffened when invisible hands closed around his neck. That was so like his dream that he was not sure whether he was awake at all. But the pain was too real this time.

“You are a bastard and a fool, rookie, “ Claude turned him around so quickly, that Noah already lightheaded tumbled into his arms.

“How could you take eight years to realize that, “ Claude exclaimed before kissing him long and heatedly. He shouldn´t have missed that so much, longing for this betraying opportunist. 

Growling he bit into his lower lip. The pain finally convinced Noah, that he was awake. He held on for dear life and couldn´t stop his tears any longer.

“Missed me a lot, hm?” Claude smirked, claiming the upper hand once more, kissing his tears away.

“Can´t cope with it anymore, “ Noah whispered desperately, “the guilt, the longing, the angst – it´s all too much. I´m so terribly sorry.”

Claude stopped the frantic speech with a finger on his lips: “Sh, rookie, I got you, “ he put the glasses aside, pulling him into a hug and rocking him, like he had done when Noah was new and not coping with a mission, “let it go now, before it really eats you alive. I should probably toss you from that bridge, but when I play senior partner, I do it right. Let yourself fall. I have got you.”

The well known warmth spreading in Noah let him shed all the tears he had hold back over the years, and left him totally exhausted but a lot lighter in Claude´s arms.

“I´m really sorry, “ he whispered into his chest.

“Well, I got that, listening to you for all these years.

“You were here?” Why did you never show yourself? I was so relieved, when I found out,   
that you were still alive.”

“So relieved, that you tried to shot me.”

“I just wanted to anaesthetize you. I needed to talk to you and I know you wouldn´t want to.”

“That´s your way of thinking, “ Claude snorted, “Don´t you think, you earned your years of guilt.”

“I did, “Noah sighed, “ I can´t make it up to you in any way…”

“No, you can´t. But I´m here to set both of us free. We shouldn´t have to come back to this place every year. You haven’t earned it, but I forgive you.”

“You do? Why?”

“Because we need it both. Take care of Claire and your family. And don´t get yourself killed.”

He kissed him more leisurely this time. And then he became invisible before Noah´s dazed eyes.

“Claude, wait a minute ...”

But he was already gone.

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> I post some Heroes ficlets, I wrote for live journal – mostly 10 hurt/comfort – ages ago, some of them published, some not.  
> They are either Noah/Sylar or Noah /Claude and not all of them are betaed, so I would be grateful for help.


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